for children with severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties

The "Neighbourhood" Drama Tour visited 7 special schools each week for 5 weeks with 90-minute sessions for an average of 15 children with severe learning difficulties and children with profound and multiple difficulties in each school, achieving a total of 525 child-sessions.

This was a very successful participative drama tour in which the children joined "Del the Delivery Man"and travelled with him as "Drivers’ Mates" in a large prop "van" to deliver parcels to a different character each week, meeting Sid the Supervisor, Reg the Roadsweeper, Pete the Postman, Doctor Proctor and Barry the Baker.

A great deal of curriculum content was presented in a very accessible way as well as many exercises and games to help the children with number & letter recognition, memory retention & communication and co-ordination skills.

As in all Children's World sessions, music and song played a large part, and each school was left with a tape of all the songs and music used, to remind them of their experiences. Teachers felt this to be one of the best tours we have ever run.

This Tour was part-funded by the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust.

More about the tour with pictures here.

THE CLASS TEACHER AT AVALON SPECIAL SCHOOL WROTE:

"It was excellent - well presented, thought-out and delivered. The level was exactly right for our children, and the use ofshape, weight, size, texture, etc., was an exciting way for the pupils to learn. They retained a great deal of the information learned. We feel the children gained improved communication skills, understanding and memory retention. Interacting skills improved and the following of instructions improved. Their learning was "FUN!", as it always is with Children’s World. Both children and staff always enjoy Children’s World’s Tours, and Paddy and Charlie are wonderful with the children. The value of the Tours to our pupils is immeasurable!"

SPRING TERM 2001 VIDEO TOUR

for children with moderate learning difficulties

The MLD Video Tour visited 5 special schools each week for 4 weeks with 90-minute sessions for an average of 15 children with moderate learning difficulties in each school, achieving a total of 300 child-sessions.

During the Tour the children experimented with video both in front of and behind the camera - they created special effects, "news broadcasts", "advertisements" and their own version of "The Three Little Pigs".

The children were extremely involved in the whole process and paid close attention at all times. We find that video is a very useful tool for developing speech and language, improving deportment and increasing self-confidence and self-esteem.

This Tour was part-funded by the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust.

THE CLASS TEACHER AT KINGSWESTON SPECIAL SCHOOL WROTE:

"The children in S1 and S2 thoroughly enjoyed all the sessions organised for them by Children’s World. The ideas were simple but exciting and the children could relate to them easily. Filming the scenes and then watching the end result gave a sense of purpose, so that they tried really hard to listen and then focus on their "acting"....the children were able to see their own success in a medium that would have been hard for us to use with them. They loved it, and I think we’ve found some budding actors!"

SUMMER TERM 2001 INTEGRATION TOUR

for special schools & their neighbouring mainstream schools

The Schools Festival Integration Tour visited 6 sets of schools and special schools in Street, Taunton, Bridgwater, Weston-super-Mare, Bath and Radstock, running 4 consecutive days of workshops with each of the 6 groups of 60 mixed-ability children.

After watching a Children’s World puppet performance, each set of 60 children, with the help of our 5-person team, devised, designed & created their own large-scale puppet and drama shows with professional sound, lighting and special effects.

We find the workshop-through-to performance format extremely successful when working with groups of mixed ability children, as all the children are so busily and excitedly engaged in a joint purpose that social integration occurs easily and well. All the children gained in confidence and self-esteem, particularly the children with special needs, for whom it is an almost unique opportunity to work, create and play as real equals with their mainstream peers. As usual, we were delighted to find that the mainstream children left the project with a far more positive attitude to "disability".

The Tour was completed with a Schools Festival Day when all schools joined together for feedback and celebration. The equivalent of 4,680 x 90-minute child-sessions were undertaken on the Schools Festival Tour. This Tour was part-funded by the BBC Children in Need Appeal.

THE HEAD TEACHER OF FOSSEWAY SPECIAL SCHOOL WROTE:

"Many thanks to your team for another superb week. Staff and puils thoroughly enjoyed the project. The quality of the delivery from Children’s World was again of an excellent standard. The collaboration between Westfield and Fosseway Schools was immensely fruitful and educational."